“What’s this series called?” I asked.“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” my daughter informed me. “It was, like, a nineties thing. Didn’t you watch it?”No, I did not, and now I was hooked. There were seven seasons. I stayed up late to watch them all. Pretty soon, I’d watched more episodes than my kids had, and I’d breathlessly ask them early the next morning, “Did you see that episode where Tara’s hick family comes to town?” My kids would blink at me sleepily and shake their heads. It was so clear what they were thinking, which was some version of, Damn, Mom, you need a life in the worst way.
Part of the brilliance of Primeval was that the huge boss-fight was the next-to-last episode of the season. Part of why I ultimately forgive Joss is this kind of genius. No one had ever pulled off such a stunt before. (And, of course Hush and Once More With Feeling.) The latter, the musical episode, stands high for me -- for one thing, all Whedon knew about music he'd taught himself the summer before when he learned guitar on his own.
But I have to list the very last episode, the *SERIES* ender, Chosen, as possibly my favorite. The look in SMG's eyes when she's asked, "What will you do now," and she realizes she is free. And then the speech about awakening ALL of the potentials, and the montage of women who suddenly discover they have the power.
And Robert Duncan's music. I can't here that Celtic battle cry w/o being reduced to tears, every goddamned time. (I'm so fucking maudlin ... ) The only fan letter I ever wrote -- and Duncan wrote back!
I CANNOT watch that "potentials awakening" scene without blubbering. I don't see how anybody couldn't blubber. But my last birthday, which was another lockdown birthday (I've had two so far), I made the mistake of letting John watch Chosen. He didn't understand much of anything, for starters, and when I started crying, he looked at me as though I'd grown a second head. We have this tradition of introducing new films or TV shows to one another on our birthdays. His default "share" is always The Godfather, The Honeymooners, or Taxi Driver. Mine is either Buffy, the comedy series Party Down, or Richard Lester's Three Musketeers and Four Musketeers.
Now I tell John that he simply isn't worthy enough to watch Buffy ;-)
OMG!!! Lester's 3M & 4M are the best ever, and the historian George MacDonald Fraser was the screenwriter! The most realistic fencing scene's in any film ever produced. And talk about historical accuracy -- Faye Dunaway didn't shave her 'pits'! The music in 4M was vastly better than in 3M. (I always "hear" stories: I get wrapped up in film soundtracks, and even have to create my own when I'm writing.) Of course, by 4M Lalo Schifrin was the composer.
You and I love all the same stuff, Gares. 3M & 4M are my all-time favorite movies, and for every reason you just gave. Michael York said it was the most physically demanding movie he ever made. No stunt doubles were used for the fight scenes. But what really chaps my butt are these cretins (Disney, for example) who keep doing remakes that don't BEGIN to come close to the genius of GMF's screenplay.
I confess that I have seen both these movies well over a hundred times. They're that important to me.
Part of the brilliance of Primeval was that the huge boss-fight was the next-to-last episode of the season. Part of why I ultimately forgive Joss is this kind of genius. No one had ever pulled off such a stunt before. (And, of course Hush and Once More With Feeling.) The latter, the musical episode, stands high for me -- for one thing, all Whedon knew about music he'd taught himself the summer before when he learned guitar on his own.
But I have to list the very last episode, the *SERIES* ender, Chosen, as possibly my favorite. The look in SMG's eyes when she's asked, "What will you do now," and she realizes she is free. And then the speech about awakening ALL of the potentials, and the montage of women who suddenly discover they have the power.
And Robert Duncan's music. I can't here that Celtic battle cry w/o being reduced to tears, every goddamned time. (I'm so fucking maudlin ... ) The only fan letter I ever wrote -- and Duncan wrote back!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqiiP6NJkh4
I CANNOT watch that "potentials awakening" scene without blubbering. I don't see how anybody couldn't blubber. But my last birthday, which was another lockdown birthday (I've had two so far), I made the mistake of letting John watch Chosen. He didn't understand much of anything, for starters, and when I started crying, he looked at me as though I'd grown a second head. We have this tradition of introducing new films or TV shows to one another on our birthdays. His default "share" is always The Godfather, The Honeymooners, or Taxi Driver. Mine is either Buffy, the comedy series Party Down, or Richard Lester's Three Musketeers and Four Musketeers.
Now I tell John that he simply isn't worthy enough to watch Buffy ;-)
OMG!!! Lester's 3M & 4M are the best ever, and the historian George MacDonald Fraser was the screenwriter! The most realistic fencing scene's in any film ever produced. And talk about historical accuracy -- Faye Dunaway didn't shave her 'pits'! The music in 4M was vastly better than in 3M. (I always "hear" stories: I get wrapped up in film soundtracks, and even have to create my own when I'm writing.) Of course, by 4M Lalo Schifrin was the composer.
You and I love all the same stuff, Gares. 3M & 4M are my all-time favorite movies, and for every reason you just gave. Michael York said it was the most physically demanding movie he ever made. No stunt doubles were used for the fight scenes. But what really chaps my butt are these cretins (Disney, for example) who keep doing remakes that don't BEGIN to come close to the genius of GMF's screenplay.
I confess that I have seen both these movies well over a hundred times. They're that important to me.